And Upon These I Write the Things of My Soul

So these last two week have been pretty crazy with clean checks, finals, going down to Utah, and the holidays. I love spending time with my family and even being able to help my friend Crystal stay sane. On the other hand, I have really missed my girlfriend and I missed being able to always be there for her. Luckily, I was able to go to the Salt Lake City temple with my friend Crystal.

These holidays have been interesting because my sister Catherine is nearing the end of her pregnancy and her little boy tends to move around quiet a bit. Being the oldest of four kids I remember being little and feeling my mom's stomach when she was pregnant with my two youngest siblings. It now strikes me as odd to realize that my sister that I grew up with, that I was little with, will be having a little person of her own soon.

For me, this is one of those things that is mile marker. It is also reminder that we all are in different phases of life and that we will always move from one phase to another, often silently and slowly. I think some of the greatest changes in this world are often silent and slow, and if we are not careful we may over look them.

These last few weeks have been enjoyable but hectic. I will admit that in the last few weeks I have not been as diligent in my journal writing as I ought to have been; hence why this post has been less events and more thoughts. For about the last month or so, I have been going through the Book of Mormon again because I haven't done so since I was on my mission in 2009. Since then my life has taken many turns and I have had many scriptural classes both of which have greatly improved my understanding.

A few weeks ago, I ran across a scripture that stuck out to me. It's found in 2 Nephi chapter 4, in this chapter Nephi talks about the plates and what they mean to him; he writes about them in these terms "And upon these (the plates) I write the things of my soul... Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord..." (verse 15, 16) I like these verses because I to me, that is what I should writing about in my journal "the things of my soul". In a small extent, I feel that I understand it's importance. My grandpa Sebright wrote a journal while he was in school. Years later after he had passed away, my dad read it and it helped him to come closer to his father. Think about it this way, if someone only knew you from what you wrote in your journal, would they recognize your personality? Would they understand your motives? My challenge to you and myself my dear readers is to try and do better at your journal writing and try to write more of "the things of [your] soul" upon them. May the Lord bless and keep you is my prayer. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Grateful Currant Bush

This week has been good but a little long because I worked hard on a big project and getting other things done. This week I had a ton of papers, finals, and other things that I needed to get done. Between this post and the last one, I have been able to give one of my good friends, Crystal Champion, two priesthood blessings of comfort because she was going through a really rough time since she's graduating this week and starting a whole new adventure. I won't lie, I'm going to miss her because she's like a sister to me. We've been friends since we both started school back in 2006. We're both dorks who love the South, the gospel and who both speak French (I speak it more than she does but she does a good job understanding me).

A few weeks ago, Barbara and I attended the annual Jane Austen Yule Ball. It was lots of fun to get dressed like the guys on Pride and Prejudice. For those of you who don't know, I have read the book and my favorite movie version is the A&E 5 hour version. I should note that it seemed to take quiet a while to get changed into the garb which made me thankful that I didn't live in that time period. It was a lot of fun doing the dances and seeing lots of different people that I know. Here's a good picture of Barbara and I.

Going back to the blessings that I gave Crystal, it was interesting because in one of them, I told her as the Spirit directed that "Heavenly Father was proud of what [she'd] done with the friendships that [she'd] made and the lives of the people [she had] blessed." I had to pause for a moment after that because it was a tender moment because my friend Crystal truly has blessed my life.

So this last week, I reflected a bit on my past and where I thought I'd be. I was reminded of the talk "The Currant Bush" by Hugh B. Brown. This is one of my favorite talks and some of my longer readers will recognize that this is not the first reference that I've made to it. I remember feeling like the currant bush earlier this year because I through a third and rather painful breakup. Coming to the close of a year, I am definitely not were I planned to be and this next year will be to be interesting and full of new challenges. While Elder Hugh B. Brown saw some 50 years later that the Lord had hurt him to put him on a new path, for me it has not been 50 years but I will say that I am thankful for the path that the Lord has put me on. Because here, I have been able to help my friends and family, and I was able to meet Barbara. Barbara has been a great blessing in my life (for the short time that she's been a part of it) and she has helped me to learn things that I could not have learned anywhere else.

I hope that you my dear readers will be able to look at your past and see the places where God put you on another path even if it meant hurting you a bit. I hope that you will see His hand directing you and thatone day, like I am today, you will be thankful for Him redirecting your life so that you grow more and better become who He wants you to be. This is my prayer for you. I hope y'all have a good week!

The Power of Hymns

Sorry, my dear readers, I have been extremely busy with school, work, and my wonderful girlfriend.

The reason I did not post on Sunday, (I don't know why I didn't post the Sunday before that) was because I was Utah and then traveling back up to here. I went on a spur of the moment road trip with my girlfriend Barbara to visit her biological mom who had stopped in Salt Lake City. We had a lot of fun and got to know each other better.

What has stuck out to me this week, is the power of hymns. In the opening of an LDS hymnal, there is a message from the First Presidency about the importance of hymns. A line from it reads "Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns." I will admit that the first time that I read that line that I was stuck out to me because I thought it was really odd. This past week has highlighted the power of hymns. Some of my most powerful experiences with Spirit were while I was listening to or singing a hymn. The lyrics often speak truth and sometimes when you are relate to a certain line it can bring the whole hymn home and bring the Spirit into your heart in a powerful way.

So my challenge to you is to find a hymn and sing it or to read the lyrics while listening to a recorded version. I promise that if you want it that the Holy Ghost will bear witness to you that the lyrics of that song contain eternal truths. Have a good week!